Monday, January 24, 2011

7 Issues on our Renovation

Last week, we had our condo rooms torn down.

Then on Saturday, we had a meeting with our contractor to talk about the renovation issues. Lucky or not, there were 7 of them X(

#1. Flooring
As I wrote before, we have to lift 10cm to apply the wooden plyboard floor (double flooring) which might make our room feel cramped and small. To save the height of the ceiling, our option is to apply cushion flooring (direct flooring), which can keep LL45 (sound insulation level). However, the cushion can sink if you walk or put heavy stuff on it. Thus, it can have gap between the floor after years.

#2. Air Pipe
A huge air pipe was running the hallway, so we have to lower the ceiling, which makes the space really cramped if we apply the double flooring...

#3. Water Pipes
To run the water pipes, we have to lift the bathroom flooring up to 15cm. Since the height to the ceiling is short, we are thinking of extending the bathroom area or not...

#4. Kitchen (water piping)
The kitchen used to be along the back wall, so to have a counter kitchen, we need to extend the water pipes from the side wall.

#5. Kitchen (air piping)
Also, we need the air pipe above the stove, so double ceiling is necessary. Our contractor said it does not look cramped, but it cost more X(

#6. Lavatory Pan
Due to the pipe laying (back side), we have to change the model of our lavatory pan (from TOTO Purest QR 4.8L to MR6L), which uses more water (1.2L more).

#7. Double Sash Windows
All windows in the room were double sash. It blocks out noise and temperature difference. It might cost more to keep them all since they are old and need some touch-ups.

Anyways, we have to decide on the flooring by Wednesday...
Hope we find the best answer!!!

No, the previous owner didn't have any problem with the layout she lived. Why we have this many issues is because we are trying to change the layout...

Yes. Houses in Japan are small like our country. haha! Downtown houses in 23 wards of Tokyo are expensive, to be sure! Our home is one station (5 min) away from 23 wards, which saved a lot of money! But some people prefer to live within the wards because of the mailing address (brand)!